Is strata singular or plural?: Usage Guide
The plural strata has occasionally been used as a singular since the 18th century and is sometimes given the plural stratas.
Ezra Pound
Connie Fletcher, Booklist
Current evidence shows senses 2, 3b, and 4 so used, with sense 3b the most common. Singular strata is persistent but not frequent. Strata may someday establish itself as a singular like agenda, but that use is still not established. We should also point out that there is a derivative culinary term strata, entered separately in this dictionary, which has a singular sense, denoting a layered and baked dish whose ingredients include eggs, bread, and cheese. For the edible strata the logical and usual plural is stratas, but strata is also used as a secondary plural (as in "several ham and cheese strata"), presumably by those for whom stratas looks like an error.
Did you know?
In geology, a stratum is a layer of rock or soil that is distinct from those above and below it. Rock and soil strata (notice the plural form) can be seen in road cuts, cliffs, quarries, riverbanks, and sand dunes, and in pieces of limestone, slate, and shale. Archaeologists digging in historical sites are careful to note the stratum where each artifact is found. Earth scientists divide the earth's atmosphere into strata, just as oceanographers divide the ocean's depths into strata. And for social scientists, a stratum is a group of people who are similar in some way, such as education, culture, or income.
Examples of stratum in a Sentence
New York Times, 17 Aug. 2024
The show makes clear the yakuza is integrated into every stratum of the Japanese government and society.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2024
In those remains, the team found high rates of tobacco spanning every stratum of Victorian society.
—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 4 Oct. 2024
The museum’s former chancellor, George Osborne, reportedly approached Nandy, setting the stage for talks across an institutional stratum in which many don’t see eye to eye on the issue.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stratum 
Dictionary Entries Near stratum
Cite this Entry
“Stratum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stratum. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share